The [http://www.Washingtonpost.com Washington Post] listed the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] elections in [[Pennsylvania]] in 2012 as 1 of the [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/the-10-states-that-will-determine-control-of-the-house-in-2012/2011/11/18/gIQAXZYCZN_blog.html 10 states that could determine whether Democrats would retake the House] or [[Republican]]s would hold their majority in 2013.<ref name="WP">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/the-10-states-that-will-determine-control-of-the-house-in-2012/2011/11/18/gIQAXZYCZN_blog.html ''Washington Post'' "The 10 states that will determine control of the House in 2012" Accessed April 25, 2012]</ref> [[United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2012|Ohio]] tied with [[United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2012|Pennsylvania]] for 9th on the list.<ref name="WP"/>

The [http://www.Washingtonpost.com Washington Post] listed the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] elections in [[Pennsylvania]] in 2012 as 1 of the [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/the-10-states-that-will-determine-control-of-the-house-in-2012/2011/11/18/gIQAXZYCZN_blog.html 10 states that could determine whether Democrats would retake the House] or [[Republican]]s would hold their majority in 2013.<ref name="WP">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/the-10-states-that-will-determine-control-of-the-house-in-2012/2011/11/18/gIQAXZYCZN_blog.html ''Washington Post'' "The 10 states that will determine control of the House in 2012" Accessed April 25, 2012]</ref> [[United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2012|Ohio]] tied with [[United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2012|Pennsylvania]] for 9th on the list.<ref name="WP"/>

Before becoming a congressman, Perry served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2007-2013. Prior to that, he was Chairman of the Carroll Township Planning Commission. He joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 1980.[2]

Perry is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Perry is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

Perry was born in San Diego, California. He graduated from Advanced Individual Training and United States Army War College. He then received his B.S. in Business Administration Management from Pennsylvania State University in 1991.[3]

Perry served as a Lieutenant in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard from 1980 to the present. He has also worked as Founder of Hydrotech Mechanical Services, Incoporated since 1993. He has been Aviation Safety Officer of Joint Command at the State Aviation Office since 2005 as well.[2]

Pennsylvania House

2011-2012

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[6] For more information pertaining to Perry's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[7]

National security

DHS Appropriations

Perry voted in favor of HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[8]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Perry voted against House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[8]

CISPA (2013)

Perry voted in favor of HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[9] The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[8]

NDAA

Perry voted in support of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[8]

Economy

Government shutdown

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[10] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[11] Perry voted to approve the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[12]

The shutdown finally ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funds the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[13] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Perry voted against HR 2775.[14]

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

Perry voted in favor of House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States. The vote largely followed party lines.[8]

Healthcare

Health Care Reform Rules

Perry voted in favor of House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[8]

Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act

Perry voted in favor of HR 2009 - Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013. The bill passed through the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 232-185. The bill would prevent the IRS and Treasury Secretary from enforcing the powers provided to them in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The vote largely followed party lines.[8]

Social issues

Amash amendment

Perry voted in favor of House Amendment 413 - Prohibits the National Security Agency from Collecting Records Under the Patriot Act. The amendment failed on July 4, 2013, by a vote of 205-217. The amendment would have prohibited the collection of records by the National Security Agency under the Patriot Act. Both parties were split on the vote.[8]

Previous congressional sessions

Elections

2014

Perry is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election on May 20, 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Perry is available dating back to 2004. Based on available campaign finance records, Perry raised a total of $519,958 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 18, 2013.[20]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Perry's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Perry won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, his campaign committee raised a total of $519,958 and spent $519,610.[28] This is less than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[29]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Perry missed 2 of 108 roll call votes from January 2013 to April 2013. This amounts to 1.9%, which is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving as of April 2013. [31]

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.[32]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Perry's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $406,019 and $1,305,999. That averages to $856,009.00, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2011 of $7,859,232.[33]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.